Europe’s first underwater museum opens in Lanzarote

Follow the author of this article

Museo Atlántico, an underwater museum featuring more than 300 sculptural works by British artist Jason deCaires Taylor, opened to the public yesterday.

The installations can be found 14 metres beneath the surface of the Atlantic Ocean in Bahía de Las Coloradas (Coloradas Bay), on the south coast of Lanzarote. The site spans an area of 2,500 square-metres, and can be explored by scuba divers or from glass-bottomed boats.

A closeup of RubiconCredit:
Jason deCaires Taylor

The permanent works, which include a 30 metre-long, 100-tonne wall, have been created entirely with pH neutral materials designed to foster the reproduction of local fish species and create a habitat for marine life in the Unesco-designated World Biosphere Reserve.

Mr Taylor's sculptural works aim to portray “the dialogue between past and present and the divisions within society”Credit:
Jason deCaires Taylor

The sculptures aim to portray “the dialogue between past and present and the divisions within society”, with some of the most notable works including The Rubicon, The Vortex and The Raft of Lampedusa, which references the influx of refugees on the Spanish island.

The Raft of LampedusaCredit:
Jason deCaires Taylor

The exhibition pays tribute to the refugees that succeed, but also those whose “dreams and hopes remain at the bottom of the sea”, Taylor told The Local.

Tubular Cactus in Museo AtlánticoCredit:
Jason deCaires Taylor

“I hope that the Museo Atlántico of Lanzarote represents an entry point to a different world and promotes a better understanding of our precious marine environment and of how much we depend on it,” Taylor said at the museum’s opening yesterday.

Drago Hybrid in Museo AtlánticoCredit:
Jason deCaires Taylor

The Museo Atlántico is not the first showcase of underwater artwork by Taylor. He has previously opened the MUSA (Museo Subacuático de Arte) in the surrounding waters of Cancun and Isla Mujeres in Mexico in 2009, as well as the Molinere Bay Underwater Sculpture Park in Grenada in the Caribbean, which was the first of its kind when it opened in 2006.

The Anthropocene sculpture in MexicoCredit:
Jason deCaires Taylor

In 2014, Mr Taylor’s Ocean Atlas piece in the waters of New Providence in Nassau, Bahamas, became the largest single sculpture ever to be installed underwater, weighing more than 60 tonnes.

The Ocean Atlas sculpture in GrenadaCredit:
Jason deCaires Taylor

“Snorkelling around submerged sculptures is an unforgettable experience,” said Telegraph Travel writer Hazel Plush, who visited the Grenada installation last year.

“Taylor has an uncanny ability to capture the human likeness, and seeing these figures trapped forever on the bottom of the ocean was a surprisingly emotional experience. This isn't just a gimmick – every piece is in harmony with its surroundings, and designed to attract marine life while giving snorkellers and scuba divers some food for thought too. It's great news that Taylor's work is now a little closer to home.” cactlanzarote.com